Steamy, But Not Exactly Steampunk

For those who love reading about Victorian lovers, “Carnal Machines” provides fourteen stories set in the suppressed sensuality of that “steamy” era. The stories cover a variety of sexual scenarios from hetero to homo to BDSM, though there is a little too much emphasis on steam powered sex machines and not enough elements of actual steampunk. Not all of the stories are equally good, but overall, it is a very satisfying read.

Published:
August 15, 2011

Pros:

Mostly well written stories, variety of scenarios, fairly discreet cover

Although, most of the stories in “Carnal Machines” do not fit my definition of steampunk, they are, nevertheless, fun and arousing erotic stories. If you like erotica, you will probably like this book. If you like Victoriana, you will probably like this book. If you like steampunk, you may or may not be disappointed with most of the stories, depending on how flexible your expectations are when it comes to steampunk.

Follow-up commentaryI've started to like it more3 months after original review

After waiting a while and looking through these stories again, I've decided that I was a little harsh in my original review. It was probably bad timing to read this anthology immediately after re-reading my favorite steampunk trilogy. The stories can't really live up to that standard, but all except one are still pretty good stories. I still think that one story is completely awful though.

This content is the opinion of the submitting contributor and is not endorsed by EdenFantasys.com

About author

Reviewed by
Ivy Wilde(Eden Writer)A sex toy is a lot like a boyfriend. You don't necessarily want to date the best-looking. You want to date the one that makes you feel good.

I don't understand...I thought steampunk is about steam-driven machines and the era in which they would have been invented.

08/15/2011

Ansley

Ignore me, I completely missed the paragraph where you explained that. D'oh!

08/15/2011

Ivy Wilde

@ Sapphire Storm -- That's okay, a lot of people are confused about steampunk. I think the descriptions tend to change depending on if the writer is aiming at a sci fi/fantasy audience or trying to sound more literary. When the people describing steampunk are trying to sound more literary and sophisticated, they tend to focus on the historical/Victorian elements and ignore the alchemical/magical elements. Since I have no pretension to literary-ness, I freely admit to liking the alchemical/magical elements.

08/16/2011

Ansley

Ah...I see. So just like everything else, you can take what you want from it nad discard waht you don't. It's not something I've explored, but it does seem to be extremely popular these days. I suspect in most cases where the alchemy and magic isn't included is because the aithor has no idea how to make it work in their writing. It's not like --- let's say Harry Potter where every detail has to mesh with the big picture.

08/16/2011

Lavender420

Great!

11/08/2011

WildeKnight

Great review.

12/08/2011

darkkitty

Thank you!

05/03/2012

pinkzombie

Great review!

05/22/2012

KrissyNovacaine

There are different anthologies in this vein. Carnal machines focuses on machines. This item: [http://www.edenfantasys.com/books-video-audio/erotic-books/steamlust] doesn't as much.